Kevin Andrews says the majority of club patrons do not have a problem with gambling.

ABC News: Ed Giles

The Coalition has defended its gambling policy following criticism from a public health expert that the plan is like putting a fox in charge of the henhouse.

If elected, a Coalition government would introduce voluntary pre-commitment technology, and consult an advisory group including clubs and gaming industry representatives to develop a plan for problem gamblers.

That group would meet four times a year with the minister responsible to develop a plan for "targeted" counselling and support services.

The plan has been condemned by some experts and by two independents who have pushed for tighter regulation of poker machines.

But Kevin Andrews, the Coalition spokesman for families, housing and human services, rejects suggestions that the industry is uninterested in fixing problem gambling.

"The industry itself is concerned about problem gambling," he told The World Today.

"They've put in place many measures in various places including voluntary pre-commitment and self-exclusion schemes. We want to enhance that."

He says if government does not consult with industry, it will end up with solutions that do not work.

"Let me take an example of where the Government has simply ignored the advice of the industry," he said.

"They're talking about making changes to the machines and yet the machine manufacturers have said that the timetable which is being proposed is simply unrealistic.

"What we're interested in is things that will work and we believe that this approach will work."

He says the majority of club patrons do not have a problem with gambling, and those who do usually respond well to counselling.

"Working with industry, getting them into formal agreements with recognised counselling services, these sorts of things will have a very positive impact," he said.

The Productivity Commission estimates there around 160,000 Australians with significant gambling problems, and another 350,000 who are vulnerable to problem gambling.

Experts disappointed by Coalition policy

Tim Costello, the chairman of the Churches Gambling Taskforce, has described the Coalition's advisory council idea as "disappointing".

"This is Dracula in charge of the blood bank," he told Fairfax.

The plan was also criticised by Charles Livingston, a senior lecturer at the school of preventative health and public medicine at Monash University, who was part of the federal Government's ministerial advisory group on problem gambling.

Dr Livingston says consulting with the gaming industry on a support and counselling service is a retrograde step.

"What it does is it stops thinking about the system of harm reduction ... and instead focuses all the attention on individuals who happen to experience problems with gambling," he said.

"When you're dealing with a product which has the potential to be addictive for many people, you need to look at the product.

"And what this policy does is it takes the gaze well and truly away from the product and puts it squarely back on the affected individual."

He says the gaming industry, like the tobacco and alcohol industry, has a vested interest in maintaining revenue, much of which comes from people experiencing problems with consuming their products.

"To put them in charge of a policy to diminish the harm is a little bit like letting the fox control the henhouse," he said.

"It's a recipe for no change and for cementing in place existing exploitation."

Independents say scheme a 'betrayal' and 'a cruel joke'

The Gillard government promised a scheme of mandatory pre-commitment, to force gamblers to nominate how much they were prepared to lose at the pokies before they even started playing.

It made the pledge to gain the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie in the hung parliament.

The policy was ditched after Peter Slipper abandoned the LNP, with the government arguing the measure did not have the numbers to pass Parliament.

Mr Wilkie says he is disappointed the Coalition will dump trials of the mandatory pre-commitment technology.

"The decision to overturn the very modest reforms of the 43rd parliament and move to something that's nothing more than reliant on counselling and advice from the industry is a terrible betrayal of the 95,000 poker machine problem gamblers in this country and the millions of people affected by problem gambling," he said.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says the policy is "a cruel joke", with research showing a voluntary system does not work.

"The way voluntary pre-commitment works, or rather doesn't work, is that you can opt out of it at any time," he told ABC radio.

"So if you're chasing your losses, if you have a pathological gambling problem, you can override the voluntary pre-commitment.

"It is a cruel joke on those who need to be helped when it comes to problem gambling."